Choi Ji-ye, a reporter from TenAsia, tells the story of the movie. He analyzes every aspect of the film through vivid coverage of the scene, and writes with sharp perspectives in a fun way. Controversy over singing ability has been put to rest, but concerns about lines remain. This is the story of New Jeans Daniel, who was selected as Korea's Ariel.
On the 2nd, The Walt Disney Company Korea announced that it had confirmed the production of the Korean dubbed version of the movie 'The Little Mermaid' (director Rob Marshall), and that actor Jung Sang-hoon was cast in the role of Sebastian and musical actor Jung Young-joo was cast in the role of Ursula. Along with this, the casting of Ariel, the main character, held an event called 'GUESS WHO?', revealing only the silhouette. Netizens speculated that the silhouette of Ariel was the same as Daniel's, and this speculation led to controversy. Ariel's voice in the Korean version of 'The Little Mermaid' OST 'Part of your world' teaser was awkward and her Korean pronunciation was inaccurate.
Even before the identity of Korean Ariel was officially announced, controversy arose over Daniel's casting. Some netizens took issue with Daniel's singing ability and Korean pronunciation, who had just debuted, and raised their voices saying that he was not suitable for the role of Ariel in Korea. Daniel debuted as New Jeans in July 2022, and is a first-year idol who has been active as a professional for less than a year. In addition, Daniel is a dual national with an Australian father and a Korean mother, and although he lived back and forth between Australia and Korea, it is known that he has never actually received formal education in Korea.
Although Daniel calmed down the controversy over his singing ability through the release of the full OST video, there are still concerns regarding his Korean pronunciation. Daniel, who left regrets about pronunciation in the OST singing, is questioning the public whether he can deliver his lines without problems in Korean dubbing. In the case of singing, the problem of pronunciation does not stand out much because it is mixed with the melody, but the ability to deliver lines is essential for acting dubbing. If Ariel's pronunciation, which is realized through Daniel, is awkward and difficult for Korean children to understand, the reason for the existence of the Korean version of 'The Little Mermaid' will be shaken.
And that's not all. Daniel's lack of acting career is also a concern. In the case of dubbing, since emotions and lines must be conveyed only with the voice, great preparation is required, and because of this, professional actors are often hesitant to take on the challenge. For example, the Japanese animation 'Your Name.' After that, 'Your name.' The distributor also re-released the Korean dubbed version by dubbing it again with professional voice actors. Considering this case, it is not unreasonable for some to be concerned about whether Daniel, who has no acting experience, will be able to gain audience satisfaction from dubbing.
It is clear why many production companies employ professional voice actors for dubbing, even though they know that casting actors or idols with huge fandoms is a great help for publicity. An official said, “It is true that there is a temptation to use famous actors or idols when producing Korean dubbing by importing foreign films. "It's good to promote, but it's the most important thing to maintain the original work quality even in the Korean dubbing, so I'm carefully selected among professional voice actors," he hinted.
Walt Disney Korea cast Daniel in his first year of debut with no acting skills for Ariel, the Korean version of 'The Little Mermaid' with many fans. It remains to be seen whether Daniel's Ariel, who is a little awkward in Korean but has a huge fandom, will be a trick or a handshake for the Korean box office. However, it is worth thinking about why many foreign masterpieces have been dubbed by professional voice actors, not actors or idols.
Jiye Choi, staff reporter at TenAsia wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr